Of Handkerchiefs And Heartache
by SoraGirl
Summary: After an arguement with May, Ash is determined to find out what was Misty's real reason for giving him her Handkerchief. AAMRN of course


Disclaimer: Don't own pokemon. _ ;P

Author's Note: Well, I know the whole elaborating on the handkerchief thing has been done a thousand times but I figured I'd give it a try :) Hope you enjoy! :D

Of Handkerchiefs And Heartache

It was a pink and red handkerchief. A feminine little piece of fabric: soft, delicate, and lovely. The type of thing no self-respecting trainer would carry around with him…well, except for one. Ash Ketchum from Pallet town did what he could to hide the cloth during the day, keeping it tucked in his shirt pocket for good luck or sometimes even underneath his hat, just in case. At night though, he always took it out and for some reason, that pink and red piece of fabric would keep him up for hours.

He doubted it was a very normal thing to do; to sit up and stare at a handkerchief while the rest of the group was asleep…but he did it nonetheless. It was the closest thing he had to remind him of Misty.  He had never kept any photos…he had never needed to. Misty had always been right there and on those nights when he couldn't sleep, he could just turn over and look at her…instead of starring at this stupid handkerchief.

And such was the case tonight, as he looked at the handkerchief and thought of her, though he wasn't sure why. He'd always heard that you don't realize what you have until you lose it…and he had never realized how much Misty meant to him until she left. And even now, weeks and weeks after her departure…he still wasn't sure. So that's really what the late-night handkerchief staring sessions were about…figuring out exactly why nothing seemed right anymore and why it was he couldn't sleep with Misty gone.

As he sat and pondered this, his nights and nights without sleeping caught up to him and without realizing it, he slowly drifted to sleep, handkerchief still tight in his hand.

~

It was early when the rest of the group awoke, eager to get on their way. Brock was busy cooking breakfast, Masato was setting the table, and it was May's job to wake the sleeping Ash. She walked quietly over to his sleeping bag, planning a surprise attack. She surveyed the boy carefully, deciding exactly how to pounce when she noticed a strange pink color poking out from his hand.

She leaned in a biiiitttt closer…was it? … "A handkerchief!!" she exclaimed loudly, causing Ash to jerk up suddenly and Masato and Brock to stare. Masato looked over curiously but Brock shook his head, motioning for him to stay put, "I think I know where this is headed."

Ash, having just been rudely awakened, looked up groggily at May, who eyed the handkerchief and then smiled slyly at him.  Realizing what she was looking at, Ash jumped up. "It's not mine!" he blushed furiously, stuffing the handkerchief into his pocket.

"Well, duh, it's not yours," May laughed, "But I didn't know you had a girlfriend!" At this, Ash blushed even harder. "GIRLFRIEND!? I DON'T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!" he yelled defensively. "So it _is_ yours then?" She retorted smartly. "No!" he tried to emphasize, "My friend gave it to me!"

Imagining some rough-and-tumble male trainer handing Ash a pink handkerchief, she was a bit taken back. "Please tell me that friend was a girl?" she asked in a frightened tone.  "_Yes,_" he grumbled, finding the question extremely dumb.

"Well then," May smiled wickedly, the very same way Melody had smiled months and months before, "She's you're girlfriend." "How do you figure that!?" Ash questioned heatedly. "Oh come on!" she laughed, "It's like in all those old stories! The knight must leave on a quest and his ladylove gives him her handkerchief as a token of her love, to keep him safe and to keep her in his heart." At this Ash gagged in pretended disgusted, there was no way Misty was thinking all that when she gave it to him...right? May ignored his sickened face and sighed a little, "It's _so_ romantic." 

 Ash froze…he had heard that line before. His mind flashed to Misty, all those times she had to explain how something was romantic…and it occurred to him maybe there was a chance she was thinking all that when she gave him her handkerchief….which was apparently an obvious sign of affection.

"BROCK!" he yelled suddenly, causing May to question his sanity and Brock to cringe. The older boy had been listening to the conversation from his place at the large pot and had realized that sooner or later, it would come to this. "Uh, yeah Ash?" he said innocently, walking up to his two friends.

"You knew what this meant the whole time, didn't you?" accused Ash, pulling out the pink handkerchief, as if it was the evidence to convict him. "Heh, what do you mean?" Brock asked, trying to keep up his act of innocence. "You knew what it meant…" Ash paused a second, blushing, "…for a girl to give a guy her handkerchief! Why didn't you tell me!?" 

 "I wasn't sure…you know Misty, besides, I didn't even know you still had it," Brock lied. The truth was, Misty had made him solemnly swear not to say a WORD to Ash about her feelings for him and he knew if he broke that promise, he would feel the wrath of her mighty mallet. 

After this, the group was silent, and Ash realized he might have been over acting. He quickly apologized to Brock, stuffed Misty's handkerchief back into his pocket, and mentioned something relating to breakfast. The group sat down and resumed conversation as normal, all save Ash, who remained quietly in his own world, trying to sort out the events of the last two minutes that had somehow changed everything.

~

It wasn't long after the discussion that Ash had come up with a (partial) solution. He had decided that the only way to be sure of what Misty meant by her gift, would to be to ask her herself. Bad weather and winding roads put a damper on his plans and it had taken them three days before he could even reach a phone so he might call her.

Three days had given him a lot of time to think. He started questioning exactly why he found so much comfort in a piece of cloth, why he could be traveling with three people and still feel lonely…but every question gave him the same answer…an answer he wasn't sure he was ready to accept. So hour after hour he tried to put the thought out of his mind, anxiously waiting to reach the city, which seemed would be the climax of his story.

When they finally reached the Pokecenter, he was careful not to let on on just how much he had wanted to get there. He was forced to kill time until the others fell asleep. After all, if he was going to be humiliated, he didn't want a big scene. Thankfully, three straight days of traveling had worn them all out and they were asleep before nine.

"Misty Yawa," he told the operator, feeling slightly ashamed he didn't know his best friends phone number by heart. The operator located the number and smiled, "Okay! I'll connect you now!" He took one last deep breath as the phone rang, video screen empty and black. "Cerulean Gym, how may I help you?" asked a familiar voice. The screen snapped on to show a lanky redhead in a short blue skirt and a light blue tang top. "ASH!" she squeaked loudly, her own screen having snapped on as well. "I'm so glad you called!" He smiled and laughed awkwardly, seeing her again made him forget any other reason to have called her.

"So how is everything?" she asked excitedly, pleased to finally hear from her friend. "Good," Ash responded but realized that if he continued talking so casually, he would never ask her what had been plaguing him for three days. "Misty," he stated seriously, "Before you left…well…why did you give me this?" He asked, brandishing the handkerchief. 

She blushed slightly and looked away from the screen. For a second she struggled with what she should say, but quickly found the words. "Uh…no reason," she lied, "Just something to remind you of me." Ash looked down at the handkerchief with slight disappointment. "That's it?" he asked, refusing to move his tearing eyes back to the screen.

"Well, what else would it be?" Misty questioned, unsure of what to make Ash's reaction. "…it was nothing really," he said in attempt to sound nonchalant. "Just…May…just mentioned that sometimes…a girl gives a guy her handkerchief if she, well, you know…likes him or something…I mean, I knew I shouldn't have believed her…it was just-"

There was an awkward silence as they both fidgeted. "….she wasn't wrong…" Misty whispered, running a hand nervously along the desk she sat at. Ash looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "That's why I gave it to you…I was sort of hoping you would figure out on your own…you know…when you were ready…" her voice gradually faded off, tears begging to be let lose. "I understand though, if you don't want to keep it now that you know…" she finished.

"No," Ash said, the confidence in his voice making up for the uncertainty in hers, "I think I'd like to keep it." Misty looked up in surprise. "Look, Myst, I hope…I hope this doesn't scare you off but…things just haven't been the same without you here…I haven't been the same…I probably sound stupid saying this but…." He took a deep breath, "I think I may be in love with you." 

A brief silence caused Ash's heart to beat with anxiety as he awaited what he expected to be his doom.

Misty started crying a little harder but a wide smile spread across her face,"Well, I don't think that sounds stupid at all...considering…I'm in love with you." Ash laughed loudly in relief. Blushing furiously, he itched the back of his head, "So, I guess that means I can keep the handkerchief?"  

She laughed as well, turning the same pink as Ash's beloved piece of cloth. "Yeah," she said, "I guess it does."

Fin.

Thanks for reading! :D Please review!!

Best wishes,

Soragirl

"Have you hugged an author today? Write a review and make one's day."


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